Honors, The B.A. Paper, and the Senior Seminar

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To be recommended for Honors, a student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher and a GPA of 3.5 or higher in the major and must also demonstrate superior ability in the B.A. paper to develop a reasoned argument on a particular topic, based not only on primary materials (ancient literary texts, material culture, etc.) but also on research of relevant secondary bibliography. For a student to be recommended for Honors, the B.A. paper must be judged worthy of Honors by the faculty director, B.A. Preceptor, and Director of Undergraduate Studies, as well as the departmental Undergraduate Prize Committee.

In their third year, by Monday of eighth week of Spring Quarter, students seeking Honors must submit to the Director of Undergraduate Studies a short statement proposing an area of research. The statement should include an abstract of a paragraph or more, outlining the problem to be addressed and sketching a preliminary argument.  Discussion of questions of method or earlier scholarship may be included, if wished. Reference should be made with as much specificity as possible to the primary sources on which the paper will draw.

The statement must be approved in writing by a member of the Classics faculty who agrees to be the director of the B.A. paper. In certain cases, students may have two co-chairs, including one member of the Classics faculty and one faculty member from another department. Classics faculty at the level of Associate Professor and above may advise up to three B.A. papers, while Assistant Professors may advise as many as two papers. Students needing assistance in finding a faculty member with whom to work should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Students may register for the Senior Seminar (CLCV 29500) in either Autumn Quarter or Winter Quarter of their fourth year, but they are expected to participate in seminar meetings throughout both quarters. The focus of the seminar is to offer graduating Classics majors an introductory survey of important research topics in the field. For students writing B.A. papers, the seminar will also provide a venue for discussing research problems with the B.A. Preceptor and composing preliminary drafts of their B.A. papers. Students will receive a provisional grade for the course at the end of Autumn or Winter Quarter. However, since the final course grade will include the grade assigned to the B.A. paper (for students who choose to write one), final grades are not reported to the Registrar until after the faculty director, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and the B.A. Preceptor have conferred and assigned grades to B.A. papers. 

The deadline for submitting the B.A. paper in final form is Friday of third week of Spring Quarter. This deadline represents the formal submission, which is final; students should expect to submit and defend substantial drafts much earlier. Both hard copies and digital copies are to be submitted to the faculty director, Director of Undergraduate Studies, and B.A. Preceptor, unless otherwise indicated. Students who fail to meet the deadline may not be able to graduate in that quarter and will not be eligible for honors consideration.

Students who undertake a double major may meet the requirement for a B.A. paper in Classical Studies by making it part of a single B.A. paper that is designed to meet the requirements of both majors. This combined paper must have a substantial focus on texts or issues of the classical period and must have a Classics faculty member as a reader. The use of a single essay to meet the requirement for a B.A. paper in two majors requires approval from Directors of Undergraduate Studies in both majors. A consent form, to be signed by the Directors of Undergraduate Studies, is available from the College advisers. It must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student's year of graduation.

Note on grading. The first-year sequences in Greek and Latin (GREK 10100-10200-10300, GREK 11100-11200-11300, LATN 10100-10200-10300, LATN 11100-11200-11300) and the courses in Greek and Latin composition are open for P/F grading for students not using these courses to meet language requirements for the major. All courses taken to meet requirements in the major must be taken for quality grades.